Archives for January 2014

“One of the greatest seers of all time! What people do not know or at least not consciously so is that Mr. DeMille could read the public pulse better than most anyone in Hollywood. Not even the studio execs had a better nose for what would sell. And then he was brilliant in the execution, making loads of cash for Paramount along the way. He tweaked American sensibility, soothed it yet also was quite challenging, holding up a mirror so that we could look at ourselves. What a pioneer! What a student of morality! The mores of the 1920’s were never clearer than in productions that flourished under his hand. Then too, the studio knew every DeMille picture was going to contain a certain amount of moxie. A man totally in tune with his times, he adapted, also did excellent work in the sound era, having a lengthy and laudable career. We only superficially crossed paths but I observed him on his sets, saw how he challenged his actors, and worked with their occasional insufferableness too ~ truly a gifted individual!” ~ Rudolph Valentino